The Mysterious Island Chain
by MarioFan500
Summary: Mario and friends find themselves on a mysterious chain of islands. They are all lost, and have no idea of how to return to the Mushroom Kingdom. If that isn't enough, there's something very creepy about the land.
1. Beginning

Mario awoke to the sound of chirping birds. The early rays of the Sun shined across his face, and he could barely see. His head was also mysteriously hurting.

"Where am I?" He gazed around at the local area. He was surrounded by nature. _How did I get here? Where is everyone?_ Either way, sitting around doing nothing wasn't helping. Getting up, he now saw more detail to his problem. He was lost in a vast forest. Going as far as the eye can see in every direction, was a large population of trees. The trees were extremely large and were of a series of shades of the color green.

Mario tried to run, but felt sudden agony. He stopped as soon as the sharp pain occurred. He decided the walk, instead. Mario thought to himself. _What direction should I go?_ North, _South, East, or West?_ He closed his eyes and decided. Mario began traveling to the northeast.

As he walked, Mario searched through the massive arboretum. Maybe a little food or supplies could be found. Nope. The search proved fruitless. At last, Mario came across a lake. _I better drink before I dehydrate out here,_ he thought. Mario ventured out towards the lake and rested at the water's edge. He gazed at his reflection for a little while before taking a sip. _Ah...Much better,_ he thought to himself. He then put his entire face in the water and proceeded to drink. Satisfied he pulled his head out. He then continued on his expedition.

While walking through an area of apple trees, Mario gathered the necessary nutrition by munching on apples. He then kept walking until the afternoon sun brightened.

Mario saw something out of the corner of his eye. He dashed towards one of the taller trees and saw what he thought he had seen. Princess Peach was sitting in the tree. Mario smiled and progressed faster. As he neared the tree, however, he saw what the problem was. A pack of wild wolves were preventing her from getting down. Mario stopped behind them, unnoticed.

"Back. Back, you beasts," cried Peach.

This only made the wolves hungrier. They began clawing at the tree. Mario took this time to intervene.

"Hey, back here," he yelled, drawing attention to himself.

The wolves turned around. Seeing a much easier meal, they forgot about Peach and began to stalk Mario.

"Mario!" Peach threw a stick at one of the wolves, but the fearsome, wild canine caught it mid-air and snapped it in half.

All at once, the wolves charged Mario. The plumber was ready. With superhuman reflexes, he back flipped over the first three wolves and kicked the last one. It ran off in fear. The others bared their teeth at Mario. He didn't back down. Another wolf leapt at him, but was immediately struck. It also retreated. The last two didn't want to take their chances, as they left without another sound.

Peach jumped down from the tree. She hugged her hero.

"Thanks, Mario! You're the best!"

Mario blushed. "I try, I try."

Peach then wore a serious expression. "Thanks for saving me from those wolves, but that doesn't solve all our problems. We're trapped here."

"What, do you mean by 'trapped'," questioned the Italian plumber.

"I mean, we're literally trapped. We have know way of getting off this island."

"Oh...," replied Mario.

He then stopped looking so dark and grabbed Peach's hand.

"Either way, let's work together."

"Okay. Will do," Peach said.


	2. Brewing Trouble

Mario and Peach came across a small cave. They could see it was miniature, but had enough room to spend the night in. Mario decided on this and walked inside to check it out. _Perfect,_ he thought.

"Peach, tonight we should stay here," he said.

Peach nodded. "There are about three hours until dawn. Should we look for supplies?"

"Yeah. Sounds good," agreed Mario.

They both set off in opposited directions, not going farther than even half of a mile. Mario was exploring along a muddy creek when he heard Peach scream. He immediately rushed back to the cave just in time to see a large figure getting away with her. It was Bowser.

"Bowser! What do you think you're doing?" Mario began to catch up to him.

"What do you mean? I'm just doing my job! I'm not letting this place ruin my fun," he laughed.

Mario leapt forward and reached out. He only grazed the rough texture of Bowser's shell. The Koopa took notice and sped up, almost leaving Mario I'm the dust. Mario then followed suit and got right back on Bowser's trail. Soon, Bowser came to a dead-end, indicated by a group of long thin trees. _Hah,_ Mario thought. _Your move, Bowser._ Bowser then did something unpredictable. He took a sharp turn to the left that caused Mario to ram into the trees.

"Give up, Mario! You'll never catch me," taunted the tyrant.

Mario then jumped among the trees and caught right back up with Bowser.

"No, _you_ give up. I'll just keep bouncing back." Mario then felt a surge of energy and grabbed Bowser's tail.

"Hey! Let go of me," Bowser demanded.

Mario instead grasped it tighter, which caused his archenemy to shriek in pain. He let go of Peach and tried to slash Mario. The plucky plumber evaded it and began to carry the princess. He leapt ahead. Bowser, shocked, lost his balance and tumbled over.

"We lost him! Good job, Mario," said Peach, getting down.

"Please, Peach. Taking out the trash is a garbage man's job," he said proudly.

Peach giggled at the remark. She then noticed a large shadow jumping over her. Bowser landed before the two. He was seething in rage.

"You're time has come, Mario! Peach will be mine!"

Bowser lunged at Mario. The plumber dodged, but Bowser caught him off guard. Defenseless, all Mario could do was watch as Bowser's claw got closers and closer. Mario would have been a goner if his little brother wouldn't have intervened.

With one blinding kick, Luigi sent Bowser tumbling to the ground just stared, amused.

"If one doesn't get me, the other one does," he muttered.

Mario hugged Luigi. "I'm so happy to see you, Luigi! Where were you?"

"I don't know. By the time I had regained consciousness, I was sinking towards the bottom of a lake. I quickly reacted and saved myself. This about the time I saw Bowser dashing through the forest, so I decided to help."

"We're just glad you're safe," said Peach happily.

"Me too," said Luigi. He then turned to Bowser. "Look, I know we don't always get along, but we have to work together in this place."

Mario approached them. "Temporary truce," he asked Bowser, holding his hand out.

Bowser stood up quickly. He folded his arms. "Yeah, whatever."

Peach spoke. "Well, we already found a good place for a shelter. Follow me."

Peach led Mario, Luigi, and Bowser back to the cave.


	3. Greedy Intentions

That night, Bowser went out to collect fruit. He had suggested the idea out-of-the-blue and said he was the only one up for the task. However, that was an hour ago. Mario, strangely, began to worry for Bowser.

"Peach, this is weird, but I'm worried about Bowser out there. Maybe I should look for him," he stated.

"Yeah, I think you should. Permission granted."

With that, Mario left Luigi and Peach in the cave, and left to search for Bowser. He began walking to the north. Mario noticed that the apples had been picked from all the nearby trees. _So far, so good,_ he thought. Then he saw Bowser. The reptilian tyrant was hunched over with his hands covering his face. Getting closer, Mario saw he was eating.

"We're supposed to share those," he said harshly.

Bowser panicked and dropped the apples. "Oh hey, Mario. Did you say something," he said nervously.

"The apples," Mario said sternly, gesturing to the Koopa.

"Fine," groaned Bowser, handing the uneaten apples to Mario.

"You did a dirty deed, Bowser."

"What did you expect? I'm hungry," exclaimed Bowser.

"I was expecting you to share, but I guess that was a mistake," replied Mario.

"You know what? I don't like you're tone, _Mister._ "

"You're not supposed to. Look, let's forget about this and head back," Mario said. He then turned away and began heading towards the cave. Bowser tapped him on the shoulder. The plumber turned around, and Bowser gave him one of the most severe uppercuts of his life.

Mario leapt up from the dirt and kicked him across the face. Bowser growled and body-slammed Mario. Wiping dirt out of his eyes, the plumber retaliated with a punch across the jaw. The fight continued like this until seven minutes later.

They both grew tired of brawling.

"You know what? Let's call it a draw and get out of here," said Bowser.

Mario nodded and followed him to the cave.

When they arrived, Peach was curious of their many bruises. The two just shrugged her off and went to sleep. Luigi had been in a deep sleep for a while now.

The next morning, Bowser awoke with a sore back.

"Mario, we need an actual house. That cave wrecked my back."

"Look who's talking," exclaimed Luigi, who was walking with a hunch.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this," said Peach. She walked casually over to Luigi and put immense pressure on his back.

"Ow," cried Luigi. Peach had to chase him down in order to continue.

Mario and Bowser eventually tuned them out.

"Okay! Let's work," yelled Mario.

Bowser dashed towards a tree and used his astounding weight to separate the valuable timber from the roots. Mario then formed blueprints of the cabin. Luigi and Peach then helped with the house.

Within a week, they had a house. They all high-fived and spent the first night in their new living quarters.


	4. Bowser Jr Found (Ludwig and Wendy Too!)

Bowser was lounging around in his room one morning, enjoying his own personal place throughout this vast wilderness. Little did he know this was about to change, but for the better.

Luigi entered his room. "Bowser! Mario and I found something you'll really want to see!"

Interested, Bowser followed him out of the house. Once they reached the forest edge, Luigi broke off in a light sprint. Bowser soon adjusted.

"So, Luigi? Exactly what is this thing you've discovered? Is it valuable?"

Luigi turned over his shoulder to speak to the Koopa king. "I can't tell you. Also, yes. The thing is valuable; just not in the way of money."

Bowser lost interest. "I'm leaving, then."

"No, Bowser. We're almost there!"

Grunting, Bowser continued to follow Luigi through the forest. At last, they came to an open area where Bowser could see Mario gazing up at something.

"Here we are," said Luigi.

"Okay, so what is it," asked Bowser.

"Look up," replied Mario.

Bowser did so. He saw his son dangling from a vine. He quickly jumped high in the air with newfound speed and sliced the vine with the flick of a claw. He saved his son from hitting the ground by catching him.

"Junior!" Bowser showed signs of relief.

"Dad," whispered Bowser Jr.

The young Koopa's jumped out of his dad's arms and gave him a bear hug. Then he reacted.

"Dad! What are you waiting for? Mario and Luigi are right there," he shouted.

"About that," started Bowser. "We joined forces to get out of here."

Bowser Jr. glared at the brothers before settling down. "I don't always understand your choices, Dad, but I trust you. Now that I'm free, where are we going?"

"We have a cabin that way," said Luigi, pointing in the direction of the cabin.

"Sweet. Let's go," yelled Bowser Jr.

The group began to head back, but they heard a sudden rustle of leaves.

"We're here, too," yelled a familiar make voice.

Out from behind the trees jumped Ludwig. One could tell he was incredibly angry.

"I was planning on making a grand entrance. Instead, this brat had to ruin everything," he yelled, pointing to Bowser Jr. "That's another reason to hate him."

"Give it a rest, Ludwig," said an annoyed feminine voice.

Wendy approached from out of the shadows and glared at them all.

"Okay, whoever can sum it up the fastest, where are we," she asked annoyed.

"Oh, we're stuck on an unknown island, Wendy," Luigi explained.

"Okay, Luigi. Thanks! You're much more useful than Ludwig here," she said to Luigi.

"Ludwig, what's your story," asked Mario.

Ludwig instead turned the question down. "I'll talk later. I'm tired and I'm sure Wendy is, too," he said, gesturing to his little sister. "Just take us to your cabin."

"And make it snappy," yelled Wendy, pushing Ludwig out of the way. He pushed her back. She glared at him and left him alone. Everyone else followed behind her.

When they arrived at the cabin, Wendy immediately began to annoy Peach.

"Hey, Blondie, go to fetch me some food," she demanded.

"Oh hey, Wendy. It's _so_ nice to see you. By the way, forest is that way," Peach replied.

"And you're telling me this because...?" Wendy glared at her.

"I'm not anyone's servant! Go pick some apples if you're hungry!"

"Do I like like I'm gonna go pick some apples," retorted Wendy.

"No, but you will soon if you're hungry."

Wendy stomped outside to go pick some apples.

"Hash tag rekt," Ludwig whispered to Luigi.


	5. Row, Row, Where's the Moat?

Wendy had went further into the forest to retrieve more apples. Ludwig decided to follow her.

"You know, antagonizing Peach like that in this situation isn't exactly a bright idea," Ludwig said when he caught up to his sister.

She turned around and huffed. "I don't care! I just don't like her, or that red-headed friend of hers," Wendy replied.

Ludwig then started walking towards his sister. Wendy began to put her guard up, but Ludwig did something strange. He hugged her.

"Look, Wendy, I know you hate Peach. However, in this place we need to work with her and those annoying friends she has in order to survive. I hate mostly everyone here, too, but I try to cooperate. We need you to do the same."

"Fine," sighed Wendy.

She escaped the hug and handed him an apple. She then began walking away from him. Ludwig then went back to the cabin. He showed up time to catch everyone enjoying lunch.

"Hey, everybody," he called, opening the door. "I talked to Wendy, and she said she would try to get along with Peach."

Peach looked up from her tray of fruit. "Okay, then. I suppose I could try being nicer to her as well."

Bowser spit out the apple slices he had in his mouth. "Anything is nicer than this fruit! I'm tired of only having fruit to gorge on!"

Luigi stood up and nodded in agreement. "Bowser's right! The fruit is getting bland. What we really need is some meat."

Ludwig thought for a second. He threw the apple Wendy had handed to him into a pile of fruit on the counter. "I remember waking up on another island," he said.

Mario stood up as well. "Which island did you come from?"

"If we head to the northeast from here, we should come across it. The only problem is that we would have to somehow pass over a few miles of water. The sea is at least six miles deep out here," Ludwig stated.

"So basically, we need a boat," questioned Bowser Jr.

"Yes," Ludwig started. "The most waterproof type of wood I've came across on my time in this area is yew."

"Where did you find yew," Peach asked.

"When I went to follow Wendy, I found her near some yew trees. If we go in that direction, we should find yew."

"And we pick up Wendy at the same time," added Bowser Jr.

"Oh, great," Peach said under her breath.

"Remember what you said, Peach. Try to be nice to Wendy," warned Mario.

"Okay, I'll try."

"Let's go, then!" Ludwig dashed out the door and the others followed.

Remembering he found Wendy to the southwest, Ludwig led the expedition through the forest. Everyone's hair blew in the breeze as they ran through the forest. Pretty soon, they had ran for fifteen minutes straight, but hadn't found Wendy yet.

"Are you sure you're going the right way," Mario asked Ludwig.

"I'm pretty certain," replied Ludwig, crouching down to rest. Everyone followed suit.

"I feel like I'm about to die out here," said Bowser. "I need some water!"

Bowser then took a right turn and walked, in search of a body of water. Everyone but Luigi and Ludwig followed suit.

"Maybe Wendy went to get something to drink too," said Luigi. He then followed everyone else and Ludwig succumbed to peer pressure and trailed behind him.

Ludwig soon discovered that looking for water was a good idea. The lake Bowser had found was absolutely enormous. The crystal blue water was so reflective that you could even see the clouds above. There wasn't a single speck of dirt or mud. Bowser Jr. performed a cannonball into the nice, refreshing water, and began to swim. However, Ludwig paid no attention to detail. He went straight for the water and soon became full off water. Also, he paid no attention to the fact that Luigi's almost impossible prediction had turned out to be correct. For, as Ludwig went for another dozen of sips, someone pushed him into the lake. Ludwig quickly reacted and swam back to the surface. He saw his only sister sitting on the shore, laughing at him.

"I can't believe you didn't see that coming! You didn't expect me to show up, did you," Wendy laughed.

Ludwig frowned at her menacingly and slapped at the water. Eventually, he caused a massive wave that caused Wendy to become soaked head to toe. She was still in a playful mood, however. Wendy leapt in the water and splashed water at him. Ludwig then went underneath and disappeared for about three minutes.

"Ludwig? Where did you go?" She then gazed around at her surroundings. Not a single sign of Ludwig.

To her surprise, Wendy felt herself rising. She looked down and saw Ludwig's dark blue hair. She laughed.

"You really can be fun sometimes, Ludwig."

"Wendy!"

Wendy turned around to see Peach swimming towards her. The blonde princess stopped once she was about five feet away from Wendy.

"Uh, yeah," replied Wendy, without her usual bratty tone.

"I just wanted to say that we should work together and not fight, for the time being," Peach said.

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Wendy. She held out her fist. "First bump?"

Peach smiled. "Fist bump," she said, fist bumping Peach.

"Hey Ludwig, I found the yew," Bowser suddenly shouted from the nearby shore. He was pointing towards a group of yew trees.

Ludwig's head rose above the surface. "Nice. Good work, Lord Bowser."


	6. Next-Oar Neighbor

Once they completed the boat made of yew, Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Ludwig carried it to the edge of the island. Barely, they could see the distant shape of the nearest island. It looked about two miles away, but it was reachable.

It had been decided that the four of them would venture to the island alone. Now, the time for that had come. The four of them dropped the boat and pushed it into the water. Mario jumped into the boat and Luigi did the same. Bowser climbed into the boat. Ludwig then leapt into it as well. They nodded and began to sail towards the island. They suddenly heard nearby splashing.

"Wait! I'm coming with you!"

The four of them turned around to see Wendy approaching the boat with alarming speed.

"What are you doing, Wendy," yelled Bowser. "Go back to the cabin."

"I don't think there's any chance of that," said Wendy, jumping into the boat.

She sat beside Ludwig and began pulling in his hair. Ludwig tried to swat her away, but he failed.

"Wendy, can you not right now? We're on a mission," whined Ludwig.

"Are you kidding? I has to do something," she said, pulling his hair more tightly. "By the way, Bowser, your son said he would hunt for fish up in the lake."

"Good," yelled Bowser. "All that fruit was really starting to irritate me."

"While I'm not huge on meat, I have to agree. We need more than just nutrition," said Mario.

Wendy stopped toying with Ludwig's hair and wrapped her arm around him. "So what are you guys planning to do once we reach the island?"

"Oh, you know. We're going to look for meat or search for others who are stranded out here," said Luigi.

"Hey, look. We're almost there," cried Ludwig, pointing to the island.

He spoke the truth. The island was just barely over twenty feet away. He jumped out of the boat and decided to walk to the island, for he was already on the coastal shelf. The others did the same.

They arrived on a sandy beach, filled with almost-white sand. Wendy looked around and smiled after feeling the nice, steady breeze.

"What if we lived here? This place is really nice," she stated.

"Wendy, focus," Ludwig said sternly.

With Mario leading the expedition, they journeyed through the deep lush vegetation in search of a better food source. Being in the back, the others shielded her from any dangers on the way. She was protected by flying branches and various other dangers.

They soon cameto an open area at the heart of the jungle. They noticed he trees here were taller. There was also a nearby volcano.

"Uh, Ludwig? I think you'll want to get a look at this," said Luigi.

Ludwig came over to where Luigi wasand gasped in shock. Wendy came over to see what happened.

"Hey Ludwig? Why did you screa- *gasp*."

One one of the trees was an emblem. The emblem wasn't an ordinary emblem. One look at at it told everyone that it was clearly the emblem of Morton Koopa Jr.

"What," yelled Bowser. "What is Morton's emblem doing on a tree?"

"I'm not sure, but maybe this means he's nearby," said Ludwig.

"Yeah," agreed Mario. "Everyone, split up and search for Morton!"

The five of them spent the next hour searching. They all ended up with nothing besides aching, hungry stomachs,

"Man, I really hope Junior found some good fish," moaned Bowser.

"Me, too," said Mario.


	7. Reuniting with the Unpredictable Trio

"Did somebody say fish?" asked a deep voice.

Everyone turned around to see Morton walking towards them with a confused look in his eyes. The largest Koopaling stood before them, hungry.

"Morton," shouted Wendy, hugging him. "How did you get here?"

"I don't know," Morton answered.

"Hey, Morton? What's with all the commotion?"

Iggy and Lemmy jumped down from the trees above.

"Iggy! Lemmy," Wendy yelled.

"Good to see you guys again," Lemmy said casually.

"Yeah! We were running out of resources," said Iggy.

"How did you guys get here," asked Mario.

The trio of brothers looked at each other for a moment. They huddled together to come up with a response. This left the confused group of Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Ludwig, and Wendy staring at them, bewildered. After about two minutes, they spoke.

"We just woke up on this island a few days ago," Morton said.

"We found each other and decided to stick around in the same area. Morton found you, so we just came out," Iggy said.

"Okay, good. Now let's get down to business," Ludwig said. "So there aren't another food sources on the island?"

Iggy shook his head. "We did find a grove of mango trees, but they're not ready yet."

"Hey, I've got an idea. Let's grow some mangos on our island," said Luigi. "That way, we have more than just apples."

"But its still fruit! I need some meat in my diet," roared Bowser.

"Remember, Bowser Jr. is hunting for fish," said Wendy.

"Bowser Jr.? Is there anyone else on that other island," asked Lemmy.

"Peach is on the island," said Luigi.

"Come on, we'll help you gather some mangos," Iggy said.

With that, the eight castaways collected mangos and other various fruits on the island. The arboretum of mango trees and apple trees was left fruitless (literally).

When the hour struck seven, Mario decided it was time to return home. Leading the group of eight stranded people, they came to the boat.

"I think Bowser should get in, and the rest of us should ride on his shell," Luigi said.

"What," Bowser asked, astonished.

"Well, you are the biggest," Ludwig said.

"It just makes sense," Mario added.

Grunting, Bowser gingerly stepped into the boat. Everyone else piled onto his shell, and they went back to the island.

They arrived to see Peach and Bowser Jr. in the middle of a game of chess. The two had carved the wood from a few trees in order to make an adequate game of chess. Upon seeing everyone enter the house, they sprung up in excitement.

"Mario! Luigi!" Peach yelled, hugging the Italian plumbers as soon as arrived.

"Hey Junior, did you catch any fish?" Bowser asked his only son.

"Yeah, I caught a good bit. I would say I caught about seven or eight fish. Beneath the surface, the water was murky, so I couldn't see too well. Peach here had to help me obtain our food for the night. At least we'll have leftovers," Bowser Jr. explained.

"Well, about that-," Bowser began.

"House!" Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton shouted simultaneously as they leapt into the house. The three occupied the couch, and immediately began resting.

"Where did _they_ come from?" Peach questioned, gesturing to the three siblings.

"They're not sure. They just showed up, and came back with us," Mario replied.

"Well, I'm just happy to know that more than half of my siblings are safe," Ludwig said.


	8. Wolf-thing

"Well then. It's good that you have all but two of your siblings back, Ludwig. However, the three of _us_ are beginning to become outnumbered by villainy," Peach said, gesturing to herself, Mario, and Luigi.

Mario and Luigi nodded in a slight hesitation. They were sort of thrown off guard by the fact that Peach had just said that considering _she_ was the one that had told Wendy to work cooperate with the rest of them. Now, Peach was talking about being outnumbered by villains. This _was_ true, though. If it weren't for their current situation, it would've been Mario, Luigi, and Peach versus Bowser, Bowser Jr., Ludwig, Lemmy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton. The Koopas outnumbered the humans seven to three. Although this wasn't intentional, it was enough to make Peach slightly wish that they had found some other people besides the seven Koopas that stood before them. Still, it was _also_ enough to make Bowser barge into the conversation.

"What do you mean _villainy_? Are we talking about the seven of us? If so, just note that we haven't tried to do anything necessarily _evil_ in the past few days," Bowser said, raising his voice at Peach.

"I know, I know, but I wish I was here with more friends than Mario and Luigi. Being stuck with seven Koopas is pure misfortune on its own," Peach tried to explain.

" _Racist_!" Bowser Jr. yelled defensively at the princess.

"Are you seriously trying to say you wish you hadn't of found us? If you are, just know that we don't need you anyway. I'm sure the seven of us could make our own base somewhere within this island's coordinates. In fact, we won't even cause any trouble! Come on, Junior! Koopalings, you too. We're gonna go establish our own home, and make it somewhere far away from the _racist_ Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom," Bowser said, beginning to make his exit.

Bowser Jr. turned his back to Mario, Luigi, and Peach too. He then walked over to the kitchen corner to gather a few apple seeds for any future trees they could grow. He quickly found some inside of the newly-made fruit basket, and picked the tiny seeds up between two of his clawed fingers. Bowser Jr. then walked away from the counter, and jumped on his dad's back.

"I took some apple seeds for us, Dad! I'm ready when _you_ are!" the Koopa prince yelled.

"Hold on for a few seconds. You guys can't _just_ leave. Although the you're our enemies, we have to help you in a time of need. The situation we're in right now is something I'd call a time of need," Luigi said, trying to resolve the issue. "Look, Bowser. We'll just forget about this entire thing, and go to bed. If you still feel the same way in the morning, you and your lackeys can leave without a second thought. For now, at least let us offer you guys a little _rest_. Look outside. The sun is about to set. I'm sure you guys wouldn't want to be wandering around in the dark."

Bowser Jr. hopped down from his mighty father's back. He hopped over to his side, and looked upward at his dad, awaiting his decision. Bowser looked down at him, his eyes glinting with the concept of considering all the possible outcomes of either choice. Then, he looked down at his son again. Bowser Jr. was giving him a look that practically said the latter was _begging_ to stay here, at least for _this_ night. It amazed Bowser how quickly his son could change his opinion. Lemmy, Iggy, and Wendy gathered behind Bowser Jr., not wanting to take their chances with the darkness of night either. Ludwig merely stood several feet away from them, folding his arms in scorn while looking away. Morton stood to the side of Ludwig with the arms crossed. His eyes were focused on Bowser's.

"Alright, alright, we'll stay! It's on the account of how much I pity the Koopalings," Bowser said, giving his final decision to Luigi.

" _Whatever_ ," Wendy mumbled, walking over to sit down on the couch.

Wendy was about to pick up the remote control to turn on the T.V. Mario and co. _somehow_ managed to construct in the few days they had been on the island when Peach darted over to her, and set it out of the female Koopaling's reach. Wendy eyed Peach in surprise, then disbelief and anger. Wendy jumped up from the couch and stood at her full height, which was shorter than that of Peach.

"Hey! What was _that_ for?!" Wendy demanded, lunging at Peach.

Mario quickly reacted by grabbing Wendy mid-air. He set her on the ground, where she glared at the Italian plumber. Wendy then stood back up, much calmer, and Mario explained himself.

"Calm down, Wendy. You can't get mad at Peach. You heard what Luigi said, _right_? He said we would offer a good night's sleep to you guys. Because of that, you should go to bed upstairs right now. It's part of the agreement, remember?" Mario explained.

"Sorry, Wendy. Maybe you should have really listened to Luigi while he was being sympathetic towards you guys. Being minions is beginning to rot your right to be heard. Anyways, off to bed you go," Peach said, pointing at the stairs.

" _Fine_ ," Wendy mumbled, beginning to trudge towards the stairs. She walked slowly across the living room until she reached the bottom of the stairs. Just as she was about to grab the banister, Peach intervened again.

" _Oh_. Take your brothers too. Bowser and Bowser Jr. are the only two that are allowed to stay downstairs. Please don't complain. You guys didn't exactly make the decision yourselves. _They_ did."

Wendy stormed up the stairs for good. The others listened to her loud footsteps as she ascended up the staircase. She found herself in a hallway with about seven doors lined across the walls. Wendy opened the closest door. She saw a room with a _huge_ red bed and a _massive_ flat-screen T.V. Wendy quickly hopped onto the luxurious bed, and picked up one of the large, fluffy pillows. She turned on the T.V. via the remote. She squealed with joy as the high definition T.V. came on, and she scrolled through the channels until she found a decent show.

Back downstairs, the other four Koopalings looked at each other in annoyance. They then turned to Peach, and began to ask her numerous questions involving their new living quarters. Although they already knew what the answer was going to be, they still felt it was necessary to ask the obvious question.

"The five of us are going to have to share a room, aren't we?" Ludwig asked, looking at Peach with a slightly annoyed glare.

"Yeah. Sorry. There are other rooms up there, but they're preserved for people who come to live with us in the future. Like _Daisy_ , for example," Peach had responded to the depressed siblings.

"Don't even mention Daisy. If you do that, you're just gonna end up making Wendy mad. She and Daisy have a pretty big rivalry, remember?" Iggy said to Peach. Iggy then emitted an exotic, psychotic laugh, and leapt over to land on the bottom stairs of the staircase. "If Wendy was to get as mad as she does whenever any of us, her brothers, even accidentally annoy her, she could probably end up killing someone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a remote control to wrestle from Wendy." Iggy then dashed rapidly up the stairs, and into the Koopalings' new room.

"Let me help you, Iggy!" Morton yelled, following his lanky brother up the stairs. He reached the top of the stairs right as Iggy entered into the room. Morton then entered the room _himself_ and began to help Iggy fight Wendy, who was busy hoarding the remote to their new, high definition, large, _luxurious_ flat-screen T.V.

Ludwig and Lemmy looked at each other, and shurgged. They earned slowly up the stairs and into their new room, where Wendy was busy being attacked by Iggy and Morton. Ludwig and Lemmy entered the room without a word, and shut the door. Ludwig grabbed a book off the bookshelf and sat down on the bed. He began reading as Lemmy jumped in the fight to help Wendy.

Back downstairs, Mario and Peach were watching T.V. while Luigi slept on the couch, right beside them. Bowser and Bowser Jr. were eating fruit from the fruit basket. They listened as Ludwig's younger siblings were busy fighting each other in their room. Ludwig was trying to separate them, but then Iggy tacked him, bringing him to the ground.

Mario stood up from the couch. He yawned for a long time before walking over to where Luigi was on the couch. Mario hoisted Luigi off the couch, and put him over his shoulders. "I think I'll take Luigi to bed. He's just going to wake up sore and cranky if he spends all night on the couch. Plus, if he has a large bed upstairs, I think he deserves to sleep in it."

"I'm coming too," Bowser Jr. said, yawning sleepily. "I'm exhausted from today, although I did absolutely nothing." He then stood up. He then followed Mario, who was carrying Luigi, up the stairs.

"You know, let me add to what I said eatlier. I think I'm going to bed too," Mario said to Bowser Jr. as the two of them trudged up the endless stairs. Once they reached the second floor's hallway, they went their separate ways. Bowser Jr. went to the right to a room near the end of the hallway. Mario went the left way, and entered a room that was right beside of the Koopalings.

Mario set Luigi down on his bed, where the taller Mario brother continued his deep sleep. As Luigi stored loudly, Mario crawled into his own bed, which was next to Luigi's. Mario took off his shoes, and set them his bed. He rested his head on his pillow, and immediately fell asleep.

Bowser Jr. hopped eagerly onto his bed. He stretched for a long time before settling down. He then fell into a deep sleep. His father and Princess Peach ended up sleeping downstairs that night.

* * *

The next morning was an adventurous one. The current ten survivors of a mysterious event had decided they would spend the next morning exploring the island even more. This time, though, they were evenly divided into two separate teams. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Bowser Jr. explored along a sandy, cool beach while Ludwig, Lemmy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton explored the base of one of the islander many mountains. In agreement, all ten of them had decided that the two groups would regroup that afternoon, at 4:30.

The beach that Mario's group had been walking through had proved to be a very amazing beach. The white sand was littered with palm trees and shells from crustaceans. Crystal-blue water came in and departed at the edge of the beach. The skies overhead didn't hold a single cloud. It was all enough to make the entire group Mario controlled end their mission now and enjoy a day at the beach.

But they didn't. Instead, they continued to walk along the briny beach. However, they walked in the shallow water, where the cool, sea waves kept their limbs cool in the heat of the sun. Bowser Jr. laughed childishly in joy as the tide arrived and receded. Though their only clothes were getting soaked, the three human members of the group didn't want to get out of the shallow water.

As they kept walking, they spotted something that looked like the entrance to a cave. Luigi quickly tapped Mario on the shoulder, and pointed to it. Mario nodded at his younger brother before inning out of the water. He began to dash towards the cave, leaving his friends and current frenemies behind. Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Bowser Jr., in that order, rushed to catch up to Mario. They ran for several minutes before they came across the entrance to the cave.

"It's really dark in there," Luigi said, taking a few steps in the opposite.

Bowser Jr. quickly took notice. "What's the matter? Are you scared?" the Koopa prince teased, then proceeded to stick his tongue at the taller Mario brother.

"Of course not. I've fought King Boo on more than one occasion, and he took _Mario_ ," Luigi said, gesturing to his older, shorter brother, who sighed.

"Don't remind me," Mario said, depressed. Then, he sprung back into action. "Alright! There's no time for pointless events! Let's move out, team!" Mario then leapt headfirst into the cave. Bowser then followed him in the same manner, with Bowser Jr. hitching a ride on his father's back.

Luigi stared at the darkness nervously as the three of them got farther away from him. He was shaking nervously when a Swoop came out of the cave. It flew right in front of his face. Luigi yelled and jumped back, but tripped over the root of a large, broad tree. The Swoop hung upside-down from one of the tree limbs. It stared down at Luigi. Then, it shrieked.

Luigi jumped in fear, and hit his back against the tree. This made him sink down to the ground in disappointment. He was disappointed with himself for not having the courage to follow his friends and frenemies into such a harmless cave. The only living things inside were probably Swoops, but Luigi was still nervous. Also, he had ventured off with Mario so many times that it seemed impossible for him to still be afraid. He had fought King Boo on his own, as stated before. He had also fought various other top minions of Bowser. This list includes but is not limited to Boom Boom, Pom Pom, King Bob-omb, Giga Lakitu, Hisstocrat, Motley Bossblob, the Koopalings, Kamek, and Bowser Jr. Also, he had once saved Peach with just the help of two Toads and Nabbit once when Mario had been on vacation. He had fought Bowser _himself_. Luigi had also helped his friends battle other sinister villains as well. This list includes but isn't limited to Cackletta, Fawful, Dimentio, and Antasma. Luigi had fought so many evil villains before. He had leapt into the face of danger _so_ many times. Still, he was afraid.

"Don't worry, Luigi. You'll do just fine."

Luigi looked up to see Peach standing in front of him while smiling kindly at him. She held out her hand, and Luigi took it. She helped Luigi to his feet, and hugged him as Luigi sobbed slightly. Peach patted her friend on the back while trying to encourage him.

"You're so much better than how you think of yourself, Luigi. You can do it," Peach said.

Luigi wiped at his eyes, and took a small step away from Peach. "I hope you're right, Peach. Thank you for being such a good friend."

"Anytime," Peach said, ending the embrace. Then, she got serious. "Now that you feel like you can do everything you thought you couldn't, we have work to do, my friend. Let's see if there's anything to this cave. If there's not, we'll just regroup with the Koopalings and try again tomorrow."

"Right. Let's go." With that, Luigi leaped into the cave entrance. Peach jumped in right after he did, and the two of them began to commence the search for Mario, Bowser, and Bowser Jr.

* * *

"This mountain is _so_ cold...I love it!" Lemmy shouted, walking alongside Wendy as they, along with Ludwig, Iggy, and Morton, continued to ascend the tall, chilly mountain.

"Why couldn't _we_ have taken the beach? I _love_ water! Instead, we're up here suffering, well, all of us besides Lemmy, due to the cold. Lemmy, why are you so happy? Why couldn't you have been normal and wanted the beach?" Wendy asked, shivering in the frigid air.

"I dunno. I just like cold things. That's why I wanted Ice Land the first time Lord Bowser included us in his plots. I just _liked_ it," Lemmy tried to explain to his little, but larger, sister.

"Guys. We're here to explore, not to talk about each other's likes and dislikes. Let's hurry up and get out of here! It's too cold," Ludwig said, folding his arms in order to warm them up.

Lemmy then jumped into the air, and landed in an area of higher elevation. It was a cliff that overlooked a good deal of the island's area. Lemmy was amazed by the view. "I'm the king of the world!" Lemmy yelled. He then waved to Ludwig.

Ludwig jumped up to land beside Lemmy. He turned around and saw the amazing view. His eyes widened in astonishment, and he looked at Lemmy. He grinned smugly. " _I'm_ the king of the world! I'm taller than you, Lemmy. That makes _me_ the king." Lemmy looked up at his older brother angrily and stomped his foot on the ground.

"No fair! Height shouldn't count!" Lemmy pouted.

"Yet it does," Ludwig said. He then taunted Lemmy by using his left hand to signify the height difference between himself and his younger brother. He then chuckled slyly.

"If it _does_ apply, then _I'm_ the king! Move over, Ludwig! Get out of my way, you short peasants!" Iggy yelled rudely. He leapt over to Ludwig and Lemmy. He shoved both of them so he could stand at the edge of the cliff. He then signified the height difference between himself and Ludwig, and _then_ the height difference between himself and Lemmy.

"Why is my _younger_ brother taller than me?" Lemmy questioned in an annoyed way, pointing upward at Iggy. Iggy giggled nastily and then rustled his older brother's multicolored mohawk. Lemmy removed Iggy's head angrily and folded his arms angrily.

"I don't know, Lemmy? _Why_ is your younger brother taller than you?" Iggy asked.

Morton then leapt behind them. The three of them heard the slight _THUD!_ as he landed. Morton pushed Iggy to the side, and the latter fell on Ludwig, which caused the two of them to lay in a tangled heap on the ground. Iggy then got off of Ludwig, and dashed over to Morton. "What was _that_ for?" Iggy questioned, glaring at Morton in seething anger.

"I'm taller than you, remember? Therefore, Iggs, _I_ am the king of the world, so get out of my way ya filthy peasants!" Morton yelled to no one in particular. He shoved Iggy again, and he fell on Ludwig once again. Ludwig's limbs jumped as Iggy landed on the eldest Koopaling. Morton then hip bumped Lemmy, and the latter fell over.

Wendy jumped into the air. She landed on Morton's back. Morton looked up at his older sibling in confusion. Wendy threw her arms into the air. "Hurray! I'm short!" Wendy yelled sarcastically. Morton laughed. Wendy jumped off his back and landed on the hard ground. "Alright guys, the fun's over! It's time to focus. Isn't that _right_ , Ludwig?"

Ludwig pushed Iggy off of him. He then stood up and gave his sister and annoyed look. Wendy smirked at him and began to walk further up the mountain. The other four followed, walking slightly behind their only sister. Ludwig and Iggy walked side-by-side while Lemmy walked right in front of Morton, who kept complaining about the cold to his older, smaller brother.

"How can you _stand_ this? I'm practically freezing my _scales_ off over here!" Morton complained, shivering in the frigid air. He exhaled and saw his breath. "The only time I've really had to put up with cold weather was the time we used Lord Bowser's Koopa Clown Car to kidnap Peach. You guys remember, don't you? That place was really _chilly_."

"I remember the look on Mario and Luigi's faces when we came crashing down on them with the Koopa Clown Car! They were priceless! We actually knocked them out of their Raccoon forms!" Iggy cackled loudly.

"Shut up, Iggy! I can't think while you're laughing like a _maniac_! I know it's what you really can't do, but _please_ shut up," Wendy said back to Iggy.

Iggy then stopped making sounds. In fact, all five of them trekked up the mountain in silence. Quiet times like this were rare for the Koopalings, for their was always something going on. Usually, they would all be fighting in their living room, in their _own_ house, by this time. They would also probably be carrying out the plans for another one of Bowser's plots. Instead, the five of them were walking silently up the mountain with the goal of scouting the area for Mario and the others. They hoped to find Roy and Larry soon, but the two of them hadn't been seen for quite some time.

Wendy took another leap upward in elevation, and the others jumped as well. The five of them landed on another peak of the mountain. They looked out over the island, and spotted their current house from the rocky ledge. Lemmy pointed it out to the others, who were shocked to see something like it from their height. Iggy then turned to the left and saw something that caught his attention. Also, it was enough to make him whisper.

"Guys. Look over there. I see something," Iggy whispered, pointing at whatever the spotted object was.

The others whipped their heads to see what Iggy was pointing at. They saw an enormous forest filled with the growth of numerous types of plants. The five siblings saw green everywhere. Large groups of animals were sprawling about, enjoying their day in the cool of the forest. Suddenly, all the animals darted off, disappearing into the bushes, all except a small group of three deer. Ludwig, Lemmy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton then saw a dark, ominous shadow looming over the deer. They then spotted what the shadow belonged to. They saw a large, purple wolf-like creature walking. Its eyes were a demonic red, and it had sharp teeth that resembled steak knives. The creature was about twelve feet tall, and had the same body features of the average wolf. The creature's claws were razor-sharp, and the Koopalings eyes darted open as the wolf-thing's claws made short work of a fallen tree. This startled the deer, and they tried to run. Two of the three deer managed to escape into the bushes. The third deer, however, was not so lucky. It tried to run away from the frightening beast, but it tripped over a large rock. It had broken its leg. The wolf-thing's mouth curled into a demonic grin. It threw its head back, and seemed to laugh in amusement. It then began to walk towards the injured deer, which let out a scream. The creature picked up the deer in one of its massive hands, and carried it off into the bushes.

Ludwig, Lemmy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton looked at each other in pure fear. What _was_ that thing?! It had shown up out of nowhere, and had taken an injured deer as its prey. This creature looked like it belonged to a nightmarish realm. It just _looked_ invincible. With its large amount of parts for defense, the creature could tear through Bowser's entire army in a matter of a few seconds. Due to its feral appearance, the wolf-thing could be deemed unpredictable. The five Koopalings that were present on the mountain had slowed their breathing so they wouldn't yell out in shock. Now that the beast was gone, they had a few moments to speak amongst each other.

"What _was_ that abomination?" Ludwig exclaimed in shock, turning to his younger siblings. Lemmy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton saw that Ludwig's face was frozen into a state of fear. They couldn't even think badly about him because they were paralyzed _too_.

"I don't know what that was! All I know is that I want to get _out_ of here! With a creature like that, we could all be dead by tomorrow morning!" Lemmy yelled. Lemmy then leapt down to the previous peak they had been on. "Come on, guys! Let's build another boat and get _out_ of here! We need to find Lord Bowser and the others too, so we gotta hurry!" Morton leapt down to where Lemmy was. Wendy then followed them. She landed behind Lemmy, and she was shaking. Morton noticed this and put a comforting hand on his older sister's shoulder. She looked up at him and gave him a brief, tiny smile.

"Ludwig, Iggy, are you guys coming?" Wendy asked, beginning to calm down. They didn't seem to hear or notice her, so she tried again. Wendy leapt onto Morton's shoulders and stood up. "I _said_ , are you coming? Guys?"

Ludwig and Iggy were looking in the direction of the forest. Their pupils had shrunken in shock. Ludwig wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words. He cleared his throat, and then spoke. "Sister...Quiet now. The thing has returned," Ludwig said softly.

This was true. The wolf-thing slowly emerged from the bushes. It grinned nastily, showing all of its strong, sharp teeth. The wolf-thing's teeth had a slight red hue to them, a clear result of the carnivore brutally devouring its live prey. Both corners of the beast's mouth were caked with the blood of the clumsy deer. The creature then began to recede to the forest, but it paused abruptly. It knelt down, and grabbed something small and furry. The creature yanked a rabbit out of the grass. It smiled evilly before tossing the rodent into its mouth, devouring it. It then left without any sound, leaving the intimidated Koopalings to stare in disgust.

"We need to get put of here. _Now_!" Ludwig yelled. He and Iggy leapt over to Lemmy, Wendy, and Morton. The five siblings began to run towards the beach Mario's group had been on.

* * *

"So this creature is extremely feral and frightening?" Peach asked the Koopalings as they, along with Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Bowser Jr., sat outside of the cave's entrance.

"Precisely. Even _I_ was shocked by what this creature did. It ate a live deer without a second thought, then turned its attention to an unfortunate rabbit," Ludwig responded. He was sitting on the bare roots of a nearby tree, right beside Wendy.

"That sound serious then," Mario said. He stood up and began to walk in the direction of the house. "I'd _love_ to see for myself, but it's far past 4:30. We should probably get home before that thing comes and devours us all."


End file.
